The origins of the Bickerstomb name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in one of several places named Bickerton. Bickerton is the name of various townships in the parish of Malpas in Cheshire in the parish of Rothburg in Northumberland, and in the parish of Bilton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The toponym Bickerton is derived from the Old English beocere, which means bee-keeper, and tun, which originally denoted a fence or enclosure. However this came to mean enclosure round a house, homestead, village or town at an early date. Thus the name can be understood to mean village of the bee-keeper.

Bickerstomb Early Origins

Bickerstomb Spelling Variations

Bickerstomb Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Bickerstomb were recorded, including Bickerton, Bickertown, Beckertoun, Bikerton, Bikarton and many more.

Bickerstomb Early History

Bickerstomb Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bickerstomb research. Another 209 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1296, 1429, 1451, 1777, 1643 and 1693 are included under the topic Early Bickerstomb History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bickerstomb Early Notables (pre 1700)

Bickerstomb Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bickerstomb Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bickerstomb In Ireland

Bickerstomb In Ireland

Some of the Bickerstomb family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Bickerstomb family emigrate to North America: Joan Bickerton who settled in Barbados in 1675; George Bickerton settled in Pennsylvania in 1772; John in Philadelphia in 1773; Thomas settled in New England in 1753..

The Bickerstomb Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Bickerstomb Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.